Nice but quirky..
Written: Nov 06 '00 (Updated Nov 27 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Play mp3's in your car, removable faceplate, high-power output (with line outputs also)
Cons: Limited remote range, cheap faceplate case, weird faceplate attachment, needs way to go to tracks faster
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| Adisharr's Full Review: Aiwa CDC-MP3 Car CD Player |
I've had this unit in my car (self-installed) for about 2 months and for the most part I have been happy with it. I made a test CD-R with 153 mp3 files (one directory) in various bitrates and sizes on green media.
Information:
The unit takes approximately 30 seconds to read the disc contents before it displays that it is ready. It will automatically start playing the first track (alphanumerically) on the disc. It display's the track number and name of the file (stored on the disc in ISO 8.3 format). That is all that is seen - the information scrolls by if it doesn't all fit on the backlit LCD screen.
The unit supports ID3 tags so if additional information is encoded in the mp3 file (artist name, song title, etc..) it can be displayed by pressing the DISP button (large oval button on right in pic). I believe the tag information supports up to 30 characters per data item.
Occasionally the unit will fail to recognize the disc (gives me an error 3) which is solved by ejecting the disc and reloading. There is also no quick way to skip to track #64 if your on track #3. You would have to step through all the tracks in between. A solution to this would be to break up files into multiple sub-directories (supports up to 512) up to 8 levels deep.
The unit delivers an exceptionally high output for an integrated amp unit which quite surprised me. The bass was clean and defined and the midrange / high frequency output didn't distort during loud bass passages. The stock speakers in my 98 Ford Contour seemed upgraded with this headunit.
A small steering-wheel mountable remote is included (infrared). The batteries are also supplied for it which is a nice touch. It seems to have limited range though and must be very close to the headunit to operate correctly. It allows you to adjust the volume (up/down), track (up/down) and all the basic settings (treble, bass, balance, etc..). It is also easy to feel to use in the dark.
The faceplate is removable and comes off fairly easy. Re-attaching it to the main unit, however, is a different story. It takes a bit of getting used to as there have been a couple times I thought it was attached correctly, went to flip it up and proceeded to watch it pop off and fall onto my shifting column.
The plastic case supplied to carry the faceplate seems nice at first and then quickly degrades. I wore mine out in about two weeks with average usage (the seam broke). I recommend a padded case like a caselogic type for faceplates.
The unit offers a flashing red LED when the faceplate is off giving it a type of 'visual security'.
I do not live in an area with very bumpy roads so the unit doesn't seem to skip much. There is no anti-skip memory buffer built-in (which really surprised me) so if the unit does take a sharp hit, it WILL skip. This may or may not be a problem in your area. On another note, it doesn't seem to be prone to skipping more in the cold like my old Pioneer unit did.
All in all, I love the unit. I am concerned about the quality of the unit (when I was in the store the display model stopped working). I believe Aiwa is new to Car audio manufacturing so they may need some time to iron out quality issues.
The unit will handle up to 192 Kbps mp3's with constant and VBR encoding. You can also FAST FORWARD / REVERSE through an mp3 which you cannot do on some other units.
UPDATE:
It's been a while (couple months)and I still have good things to say about the unit. Seems that a number of people have had bad luck with this unit quality wise. Although I haven't had any real problems, I would recommend looking into a service plan (I bought a 2 year for $ 30.00) if the retailer offers it. I do plan on getting a LOT of use from this unit and would hate to be without it for any length of time since I'm on the road traveling frequently.
The remote control unit doesn't seem to work as well as it first did. The rubber band that holds it on the wheel needs to be tightened and the range seems to have diminished. All in all, it's still functional but could be better made.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Adisharr
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Location: Rochester, NY
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I rate things like I see them.. No bias here..
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